Friday, March 11, 2016

Unemployed? Get a Job Quick!

Recent studies have found that the longer you stay unemployed, the less likely you are to get hired. Want to know why? Because the people who hire have an unconscious prejudice against applicants who have been unemployed longer than six months.

The government likes to crow about the low unemployment rate. Typically, it considers a national average of 5% to be "full employment." However, what they don't tell you is how hard it is to really know how many people are out of work. And it's even harder to tell how many people can actually get a job if they try.

The media likes to push the idea that you need a college degree to get a good job. Problem is, college degrees today are so common they hardly mean much any more. The degrees people are getting often don't equate to employable skills. Worse yet, when they do get employed, it's usually at less than they were led to believe they qualified for because the better paying jobs have been filled for decades by people who are working longer for less.

In what is supposedly the wealthiest nation in the world, we have a growing class of poor -- highly educated, well-qualified poor. It's a sorry state of affairs and something the government cannot fix. Our economy is sick. It needs a shot in the arm. Jobs need to be brought back from overseas but most importantly Americans need to learn to live on less, expect less, and find out what it means to be frugal in their lives.

We are a spendthrift society. We are consumers, not producers. We demand more money so we can instantly spend it on trifles. Cable TV, designer clothing, fancy cars, jewelry... We need to learn to concentrate on the basics: food, clothing (practical), and shelter. Personal responsibility comes from common sense.

The Commentator

I have been writing speculative fiction for over 40 years, but only
recently have I been able to pursue it full-time. After retiring from
my position as an air traffic controller, I decided to devote myself to
my writing, not realizing I was trading one stressful career for
another. Nevertheless, through my short fiction and novels, at least I
have an outlet for my obsession with the written word.